A friend sent me this very interesting article that many of you may find useful.

“The Visionary & the Architect

When people talk about Steve Jobs, Sara Blakely, Henry Ford, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg , the word visionary is usually somewhere in the conversation. These are people who changed the way we live and had a fundamental impact on shifting how we behave.

Over the years, I have listened to lots of people share their vision. Whether it was in my corporate job, with friends and family or from business owners and entrepreneurs. They excitedly shared what they see for their future. Creating a picture of what they see, they have literally taken me on a journey of showing me how what they want to accomplish has the ability to change those around them, change the way we do business, change how people help other people, change how we communicate, change how we eat, change how live, and the list goes on and on and on.

I would find myself getting just as excited as they were and eagerly cheering them on as they worked to bring that vision to life. But I discovered something over the years of listening to so many stories – some of those visions remained just that – visions. While the visionary talked passionately about what they wanted to do, and even perhaps conducted research, that was where it ended.

Last week, I watched a profile on Jeff Bezos – the founder of Amazon.com. One of his employees said that Jeff was not just a visionary – because that wasn’t enough. He was also an architect. He was someone who could take a vision and use it to design a plan, create the steps and build something real and lasting from that vision. He removed the barriers, took risks, worked hard and kept going, even when those around him thought it best to give up.

So, my question for you today is: Are you a visionary only – or are you also an architect?

Not sure? Ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. Do you constantly take action to execute your vision or are you still in the same place with your vision you were 6 months ago, last year, 3 years ago?

2. Do you consistently stay connected to those who can help you move your vision forward? Are you networking, attending conferences and workshops or taking courses?

3. Do the people closest to you listen politely when you bring up your vision, but don’t engage because they’ve heard it all before?

It’s great to be a visionary, but remember a vision alone will not get you there. With only a vision, you’ll be fun to listen to – but you won’t change the world.”